Chapter 2

Note: When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font.

Ananu date – 6^th year, 5^th month, 5^th clock cycle

Sarah’s Clan was just finishing breakfast when Cécilia came over to them with a small package. On reaching the table she said, “This came up on a shuttle last night for you all.”

“Thank you,” said Aoife as she took the package. All of her spouses looked at her with puzzled expressions, as this was an unusual event.

When she just laid it on the table Keri said, “Aren’t you going to open it?”

“Yes, but when we get back to our suite.”

Moya said, “I am not sure we can contain our curiosity that long.”

“Why?” asked Tara. “It is just a package.”

“True. But we don’t see packages delivered like that very often, if ever.”

“It can wait until we are back in our suite since we planned on stopping by there before going to the hangar.”

Just as Tara finished speaking, Cass and Abaigeal of Briana’s Clan started the morning meeting. After a brief discussion of issues on Dóchas, the monitors came to life showing the meeting areas on the other ships and at Tara Ardchlár. With everyone connected together hosting the meeting shifted to Keriann’s Clan on Iarracht.

Brigid said, “James, I believe you have an announcement.”

“Yes. Thank you. The Ceremony to install the first members of the Council of Celia is now set to occur in about nine weeks. This is a little further away than initially planned. This change was to make sure it is after the birth of the babies in Siobhan’s Clan. By moving the date out a bit also makes it easier to prepare the site without significantly impacting other activities. After the ceremony, we will have a two day celebration. This will be our first annual holiday known as ‘Landing Day’. In the future it will be on a date that matches our arrival over Ananu. Any questions?” Seeing none he added, “The group planning the ceremony will give us an update on their progress at least once a week. A current summary of their activities is available in the library.”

Cary stood on Taiséalai waiting for recognition. When James saw him, “It looks like we have a question, which is?”

“Doesn’t that timing conflict with the visitors you are expecting?”

“Currently the visitors aren’t expected until three weeks after the ceremony, and it could be after that. Any more questions?”

“Yes,” said Cary, “Will the date for future installation of Council members be based on this date?”

“I think I can say, ‘probably not’, although if you had asked a week ago I would have responded, ‘we think so.’” When the laughter subsided, he continued with, “All of us have come to believe that the installation of Councilors needs to be on a different day. Since we have a different calendar to the one in use when we set up our constitution, we need to look at dates for election and inauguration. Current thoughts are to have elections on the 21^st of Twelmonth and inauguration on the 21^st of the following Secmonth. This will be a decision for the family to make in the near future.”

“Thanks.”

“More questions?” After a few moments he added, “That covers what I had.”

Brigid said, “We believe most of you know that An Clochán was activated about six weeks ago. This was prompted by some of our friends on Earth making use of the escape mechanism we gave them before beginning our voyage. Since then the staff at An Clochán have been contacted by others asking if they can come there. With An Clochán active the staff have also been picking up qualified candidates that want to join us. On some days they’ve picked up as many as 300. This has really stretched the resources we left there.

“To resolve the resource issue, we are organizing a task group to make a visit to An Clochán. Currently plans are to send 6 cruisers, along with several flights of Star Fighters. This trip is not envisioned as being the one that was planned for returning the journalists and their families, but they can go back at this time if they wish. While we understand the issues the journalists have with their sponsors, we think many would like to remain until after our visitors have left.

“The reason we are asking for volunteers is that we expect that some of those going may miss the Landing Day celebration. As currently envisioned, the members of this task group will assist our staff at An Clochán ensure that all the site’s facilities are up and running. This includes training on maintaining the equipment. To help with the people issues we need medical specialists and others trained in assisting people define a new future and adjust to a change in circumstances. This is voluntary. Again, you may miss the Installation and Landing Day celebration. Please let your Staffing department know if you are interested. Any questions?”

Allister stood on Taiséalai and when Brigid saw him she asked, “Allister, your question?”

“While I think I understand the basis for those with staffing talents, why do you need additional medical staff? Are there injuries?”

“We believe that there are only minor injuries. The Command Staffs are still evaluating the situation but feel we need to send the task group very soon. There are ~14,000 people at An Clochán and New Comrie. Those on New Comrie are being moved to An Clochán, that relocation may be complete by now. Our current view is that we should treat everyone there as a potential crew candidate, using the criteria we all know. There are potential security issues that taint that view. Since being active An Clochán has received applications from several thousand people, these are included in the earlier total. Have I answered your question?”

“I think so. If they all want to come here, how would we accomplish that?”

“We’ve asked the Iridiens, Monque, and Atewa if they have passenger ships we could lease. There hasn’t been enough time to receive a reply. The plan was to bring everyone here and let them live on the ships until accommodations on Ananu were available. This seems friendlier than making them wait at An Clochán, as it will likely be at least a year before we have sufficient accommodations for everyone at Tara. Bear in mind, we are still in the midst of planning a path forward. Due to its potential impact, we will be discussing this again in a few days.”

“Thanks.”

“Morgan, your question?”

“Well it is not really a question. If it is only a few weeks, why don’t we hold off on the celebration and the swearing in ceremonies until those from An Clochán can be here?”

“That is our preference. Whether we can do that or not depends on passenger ship availability.”

“I didn’t see anyone else stand, so are there other questions?” After a few moments of no response she added, “It looks like we’ve answered all the questions for now. I don’t believe there are any other items to discuss, so let’s close this session. Have a great day.”

“Well done Brigid,” said Sarah’s Clan. Their comment was quickly followed by similar comments from the other Command Staffs.

“Thanks. I was kind of expecting some more difficult questions regarding An Clochán and the sudden influx. How was the sightseeing?”

“Great, we’ll tell you about it when we see you later today.”

“We are looking forward to your visit. What are your plans for this morning?”

“Checking out the island that was proposed as a practice range for weapons and psionic skills.”

“Good. We haven’t practiced ours for a while, well since we left Mars, although we have done simulations.”

“We have too, but are concerned about bad habits slipping into the methodology since you don’t see or sense real results.”

“Good point. See you all this afternoon.”

Aoife said to her family, “Let’s go get our instruments so we have them ready for this afternoon. That way we can stop at Tara Ardchlár for lunch before we go to Iarracht.”

In their suite Joyce said, “So what is in the package?”

Aoife smiled as she carefully unwrapped it. “I suspect it is confirmation of a perception we had yesterday.” She lifted the lid off the box and turned it to show everyone.

Moya said, “Isn’t that the plate and glass we left at the grotto yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“We don’t understand,” responded Iris.

“Yesterday Ta and Lil showed Sarah, Maeve, Tara and I several secluded places, or clearings, that they thought were unique. Moya and Corey were with us at some of the places. The first one contained what resembled a grotto. We presumed it was a place that was frequented by deities, so we left a small loaf of bread, some cheese and a glass of wine. This was done as an offering of respect as we felt we had entered a special place of Theirs. By returning the glassware, they’ve confirmed that there are deities in this solar system. Although, Aine and her sisters have already indicated that there were. Based on this response, I suspect we will have more contact with Them in the future.”

“That is scary,” responded Earnán.

“Why?” asked Maeve.

“Well, because they are God.”

“It could be a Goddess,” said Corey with a smile.

“Are you afraid of Aine, Morrigan, Branwen or any of the others?”

“No. Why?”

“They are very interesting people and fun to be around,” said Moya.

“Yes. But, some would regard them as Goddesses.”

Keri said, “So you are saying that we should interact with them like we would others of similar station, by being respectful and listening to their guidance.”

“A good way to express it,” said Tara. “You may not realize you’ve met them until afterwards.”

Sarah said, “The day is slipping past so we need to be on our way.”

It was early afternoon when Sarah’s Clan exited their shuttle on Iarracht to be greeted by most of Keriann’s Clan. After exchanging hugs Eleánóir said, “You are a bit earlier than we expected.”

“Well,” replied Rusty, “we didn’t linger at the proposed aerial gunnery range very long. It appears to be well suited for its purpose. However, we did spend quite a bit of time at the site set aside for exercising our psionic skills, and made use of it.”

“That was neat to watch,” added Iris.

Moya said, “Yea, this was the first time we’ve seen our parents doing that. I think seeing those skills in use gave me a better understanding of what they are and how they can be used.”

“Until today,” added Kennith, “I only thought of them as weapons, but not any longer.”

“What do you mean?” asked Niamh.

“They have more uses than as just a weapon. Perhaps thinking of them as a tool with multiple uses is a more accurate way of looking at them.”

“I wonder if any of us will have those abilities,” said Keri.

“Only time will tell,” responded Sarah. “It will likely be several years before you will know. Besides, all of you already have telepathy, which many regard as a psionic ability.”

Corey said, “I can wait to see if I have been blessed with more than telepathy. If I have, I hope the blessing includes the wisdom to use the ability wisely.”

“Excellent insight,” said Mégane of Maureen’s Clan as the clan entered the reception area.

“Good, you guys are here!” exclaimed Marnia.

As they were greeting each other Iris saw Karen, Kaylin, and Courtney enter holding the children’s hands. She said, “Great, you brought the babies.”

After hugging Iris, Courtney said, “We thought that if we didn’t you wouldn’t let us stay. Besides, we didn’t want to disappoint you all.”

“We are not that bad,” responded Keri.

“Yea, right,” laughed Eibhlin of Maureen’s Clan.

“Is this who you are looking for?” asked Karen with a smile. Once she released the child’s hand the child ran to Keri.

“Sure,” Keri replied as she picked her up.

Emma of Keriann’s Clan entered the reception area and said, “I thought you all would be in the common room by now.”

Caitlyn laughed and said, “We started that way, then Maureen’s Clan arrived.”

“Well then let’s go as it is much more comfortable.”

Once they had settled in the common room Sarah questioned, “Maureen, how much longer till the births?”

“Sixteen weeks, and Mégane assures us that we are doing well.”

“Great,” responded the group.

Moya said, “Eileen, Aisling, and Kendra’s babies are due in three weeks.”

Brigid added with a smile, “And ours are due in 9 weeks.”

“Gosh,” said Sarah, “I hope no one felt slighted by the way I posed my question.”

“Not us,” quickly replied Siobhan.

“Since we are on this topic,” said Oriel, “what do you all think of us asking some of the children to assist the nannies with the babies and younger children?”

Keri quickly said, “Great idea.” Her siblings nodded their heads indicating their agreement.

“Our perception of this is something more than babysitting, but significantly less than being a nanny. Similar to what your children have been doing but perhaps more organized.”

Tara of Sarah’s Clan said, “I think it is conceptually a good idea as it expands their learning beyond what can be accomplished in the learning centers.”

Celia of Keriann’s Clan added, “We hope that our children will have the same interaction with the crew that yours did.”

“Celia, the crew interacts with our children in much the same way that we saw them interact with those in Sarah’s Clan,” responded Courtney. “Since ours started walking, our difficulty has been keeping track of them when we are in the dining room. We aren’t sure how Sarah’s Clan did it when we were all on Dóchas.”

“We tell you if we want to leave the dining room,” commented Beth, Courtney’s daughter.

Courtney smiled as she said, “Yes, you are all very good about doing that.”

Brigid of Keriann’s Clan said, “I would like to hear about your sightseeing trips.”

Before the adults in Sarah’s Clan could respond their children started telling everyone about what they had seen. They were very good about taking turns so that they each had an opportunity to describe the different areas of Gaillimh Island. Moya noted the special areas that the lions had shown them, but didn’t mention the grotto or the offering.

Deirdre said, “We stopped by Gaillimh Bay on the way here to let the lions out as they wanted to explore. The sandy shore along the bay between the two rivers that empty into it is very nice. I would have liked to have spent more time there, but I am sure we will in the future.”

Chester asked, “Why did the lions want to be let out there?”

“They haven’t explored that area yet,” replied Jordana. “They haven’t been able to find a useable path down from the bluffs overlooking the bay area. They had tried some but could only get part way down before the path ended. Several of us think that we will need to pick them up in a day or two.”

“Why is that?” asked Brandan.

“They shared some of their experiences with us and we’ve looked at the maps. We think the only way to get down is with a rope, so you can either walk up the face or rappel down. However, there are likely some game trails that are suitable for very small animals. We did see rabbits and ground hogs in the grassy area inland from the bay. There were also indications of small predators in the area. Since it frequently floods, they must know a way out.”

“Good point and good observations.”

“Anything else?” asked Crystal.

“Nothing that can’t wait until the Command Staff meeting in a couple of days,” replied Terry. “Besides, if we continue to talk there won’t be enough time to spar or play volleyball.”

“Volleyball,” shouted all the children.

Anna of Siobhan’s Clan said, “Did you all bring your instruments?”

“Of course,” responded Moya. “We can do that after dinner.”

It was approaching 27:00 hours when Alena said, “Wow, look at the time, and it seems like we just arrived.”

“We can put you up for the night,” responded Kelly.

“While that is a delightful idea,” said Erin, “I suspect we should return to Dóchas this time. Could we have a raincheck?”

“Most certainly,” replied Keriann’s Clan.

Chester added, “We’ve really enjoyed our time together this evening.”

“We should be going as well,” said Courtney of Maureen’s Clan. “We’ve certainly enjoyed the evening as well, especially since we managed to win a game of volleyball.”

Beth, Courtney’s daughter, added, “When can we do this again?”

Earnán said, “Beth, we will probably see you all in a day or two.”

“Good. Are you going to stay overnight?”

“We’ll see. With everything that is going on ... maybe not this time, but we will do it again.”

“Okay.”

Courtney said to the children of Sarah’s Clan, “We know you all are involved in a lot of activities besides the learning centers, but just remember, you guys are all welcome to visit us anytime.”

“Oh, we will continue to visit you all,” replied Marnia with the other children nodding in agreement.

Once they had gathered up their instruments, the three clans walked to the hangar where they gave each other hugs before Maureen’s and Sarah’s Clans boarded their shuttles. As the shuttles exited Iarracht Kelly said, “I am exhausted.”

“Why?” asked Keriann. “You aren’t pregnant.”

“Maybe it’s the longer days.”

Emma responded with, “Conall indicated that some people were taking longer to adjust to the 30 hour day. I like it as we have more time to recharge our energy before beginning our next duty cycle. Before it seemed like all we did was eat, sleep, and work.”

Oriel said, “The advantage now is that we have some time to unwind doing nonessential activities.”

“Conall thought that those having difficulty weren’t taking advantage of the longer rest period and needed the extra rest.”

“Maybe it is the fact that you need to adjust your perceptions regarding the time of day and the associated hour,” said Niamh as they walked to their compartment.

On shuttle carrying Sarah’s Clan to Dóchas Erin said, “Moya, Corey, I noticed you didn’t mention the offering at the grotto.”

“Well we weren’t sure what to say or how to say it,” replied Corey. “From our perspective, all we know is that we left an offering and the utensils were returned, everything else we talked about this morning is speculation.”

Moya added, “We’ve thought about it quite a bit. We believe They accepted our offering and confirmed Their presence by returning the utensils. This is what mom Aoife indicated this morning, which I doubted at the time. I now agree that it is the best fit for what we know.”

“Besides,” added Corey, “we know you will discuss it when you all get together. If we had mentioned it, then discussing it would have cut into our socializing.”

“Good reasoning,” said Sally.

Deirdre said, “To change the topic, I would like to go with you when you practice your psionic talents, and I suspect some of my siblings feel the same way.”

“You are certainly welcome to tag along,” said Sarah, “with that in mind, we will try to schedule them in the future. We haven’t practiced as often as we should, and many times when we have it has been part of another activity. I think today showed us that we needed the practice as our control wasn’t very good.”

Sally said, “We could occasionally do that in place of an Aikido session.”

“That would work for us,” responded Keri. “We could adjust our training schedules so we didn’t miss anything or cause a scheduling problem.”

They were on final approach to Dóchas when Kennith said, “Good, we are almost home and I am looking forward to getting some rest.”

“It has been a busy two days,” said Joyce.

“Yes it has,” added Sarah as the shuttle settled on to its cradle. “Like Kennith, I am looking forward to getting some rest.”

“Amen,” responded many of her spouses while the others nodded their agreement.

It was several days later when the group of Órarduine cruisers and Iridien Spec Ops ships paused on their journey to Tigsu. Several weeks earlier the Iridien’s ships had arrived in Celia system for the purpose of escorting a Tigsu diplomatic ship to their home planet. However prior to the Tigsu diplomats boarding their ship, it was hijacked. As a result the Iridien Spec Ops were tasked with transporting Tigsu diplomats back their home planet. After considering their situation, Commander Demerti asked the Órarduine for an escort for a portion of their trip to Tigsu. This was due to concerns he had regarding the security of their trip and the operational issues with the ships on their trip to Celia. When they left Celia system, he was expecting another Spec Ops group of ships to join him at the third intermediate stop.